In the opening seeding round, held in Hamilton: …………………………………………………… The 14th-seeded Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the 8th-seeded Mississauga Father Michael Goetz Gators 59-54 as Phil Poulin scored 22, Dustin Decazio 12 and Marc Emers 9. Isaac Kuon led Father Goetz with 15. Jesse Sandiford, C.J. Proctor and Johnathan Tyndale each added 9. The Fighting Irish broke to an 8-0 lead and extended the margin to 15-3 after one quarter. The Gators closed to within 15-9 but the Irish responded and hit four treys of their own in the quarter, including two by Phil Poulin, to extend the lead 34-21 at the half. Poulin told the Hamilton Spectator that “they were pretty upset that we came out at them hard, so we were expecting that.” Goetz opened the second half with a 15-0 run and led 38-37 after three quarters. But then Poulin hit a trio of treys as the Fighting Irish to the win. “We got down a bit but coach told us to keep at it and play like we did in the first quarter and we could hold them off,” said Poulin. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Ajax Pickering Trojans dumped the 13th-seeded Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders 39-29 as Lindon Rainford scored 8, Stephen Lopez 8 and Tim Cozier 7. Jaymes Ordyniec and Tavo Cordova each scored 8 to lead St. Mary’s. Zack Casuccio added 5. Pickering led 9-4, 18-12 and 24-22 at the quarters. “I can’t remember the last time we had so few points in a game,” Trojans coach Ron Parfitt told the Toronto Star. “The guys were rusty, (St. Mary’s) played a good defensive game and when we had the shots, we couldn’t put them in.” Pickering got a solid game from Stephen Lopez, who scored a pair of buckets in the Trojans’ 9-0 run to end the game. “Very, very frustrating,” said St. Mary’s coach Jamie Girolametto. “We were too timid with the ball.” Girolametto told the Hamilton Spectator that “we didn’t take care of the basketball. We did a terrible job. They put a little bit of pressure on us in the quarter court but we were timid, afraid to move the basketball, afraid to beat our man. The next guy wouldn’t be available to reverse the ball. That’s why I don’t think the effort was there offensively. Defensively, we held them to under 40 and in OFSAA that’s pretty good.” The Crusaders offence sputtered when Steve Lobodici was concussed after falling and banging his chin early in the fourth quarter. Pickering led 30-29 lead and then broke the game, but then broke the game open. Lyndon Rainford drained a layup and then Stephen Lopez stole the ball at halfcourt and race for a layup. “You have to play defence before you play offence. Defence wins championships,” said Trojan guard Marcus Wong. “We had a problem making our shots. I don’t know what went wrong. We still got the win. That’s what counts.” …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Scarborough West Hill Warriors thrashed the 9th-seeded Markham District Marauders 65-46 as Jevohn Sheppard scored 16. Mike Folker paced the Marauders with 25. Tyler McGarrity added 6. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Mississauga Loyola Warriors defeated the 10th-seeded Waterloo CI Vikings 50-42 as Michael Hall scored 15, Jamie Smith 11 and Andrew Hall 9. Gavin Horne paced the Vikings with 16. Juan Montgomery added 10. The Vikings led 10-5 after one quarter. Loyola led 21-19 at the half and 32-31 after three-quarters. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Scarborough Blessed Mother Teresa Titans defeated the 11th-seeded Kitchener Collegiate Raiders 58-51 as Justin Dennis scored 14, Papa Oppong 13 and Craig Nelson 9. Cam McIntyre led Kitchener with 15. Alain St. Onge and Ronnie Sweeney each added 8. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints whipped the 12th-seeded London Oakridge Oaks 59-31 as Ronnie Williams scored 22. Brandon Lucas paced Oakridge with 10. Tyler Carey added 9. …………………………………………………… The 16th-seeded Ottawa Sir Robert Borden Bengals defeated the 6th-seeded Belle River St. Anne Catholic Saints 59-53 as Kevin McCleery scored 23, Mike Kenny 16 and Bo Dodik 6. Adrian Bisson paced St. Anne with 20. Vinnie Allevato added 11 and Dan Trepanier 7. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Hamilton Cathedral Gaels whipped the 15th-seeded Barrie Bear Creek Kodiaks 81-47 as Ricky Dunkley and Yannick N’Kindu each scored 14. Brian Furtado added 10. Jacob Burke led Bear Creek with 18. “This is the way we wanted to start,” Gaels guard Yannick N’Kindu told the Hamilton Spectator. “We’ve been playing great the last two weeks. Now is OFSAA and it’s such a big tournament we just wanted to come hard and play with intensity. We’re taking this seriously. We don’t want to go home.” The Gaels led 24-11, 48-15 and 68-30 at the quarters. “This is exactly what we wanted,” Gaels coach Mark Daly said. “We got to rest our guys. The guys who played, played well.”
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The 13th-seeded Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders stunned the 4th-seeded Mississauga Loyola Warriors 39-37 as Pat Orvidas hit a jumper with two seconds to play. “We had nothing to lose,” Orvidas told the Hamilton Spectator. “It was a tie game and I got a shot. I’m still shaking.” Tavo Cordova scored 14, Jaymes Ordyniec 9 and Orvidas 6. Michael Hall led Loyola with 15. Nathan Duncan added 8 and Andrew Hall 7. The Crusaders limited 6-9 Warriors star to 2 before he fouled out with 2:44 remaining. “I think in the first half, they scored five points off a half-court offence and 18 off turnovers,” Crusaders’ coach Jamie Girolametto said. “In the second half, we did a better job attacking the press and taking care of the basketball. We were able to get the ball inside, where they were bigger, and scored. Half-court defence wins championships and that’s our biggest strength.” The Crusaders played without Steve Lobodici (concussion) and had forward James Ordyniec foul out with 4:34 to play but Greg Hayes stepped in and provided some solid minutes. “It was only the second game he’s played,” Girolametto said. “He looked a little rusty on Monday but looked pretty good today. That helps, especially with James out and Steve not being able to play.” Girolametto said Lobodici “works so hard every day at practice. He’s got chronic knee problems and maybe once a week he’ll tell me he needs a break. For him to end his high school career like that is really sad.” The Warriors (coached by Tony Centofante, Jerry Fraelic and Matthew Centofane) also included Melvin Moncreif, Randy Reid, Jamar Bailey, Kareem Gardner-Williams, Jamie Smith, Darko Bozanovic, Ryan Wright, Matas Tirilis, Matthew Piccini, Ernest Boateng and Troy Dennie. …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded Markham District H.S. Marauders defeated the 14th-seeded Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish 55-53 in overtime as Matt Cole hit a trey at the buzzer. Tyler McGarrity paced the Marauders with 16. Cole added 14. Phil Poulin led Notre Dame with 16. Chad Patus added 10. The Irish (coached by Mike Rao, David Fucile and Dan Marshall) also included Quinto Borghesi, Kevin Cirocco, Adam Crumb, Josh Snyder, Brett Lawrence, Jonathan Hiller, Lee Lachance, Mike Iafrate, Marc Emers, Dustin Decasio, Wade Pychel and John Beck. Markham led 14-6 after a quarter, 25-20 at the half but trailed 36-35 after three quarters. Matt Cole hit the winner in overtime for the Marauders. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Hamilton Cathedral Gaels edged the 12th-seeded London Oakridge Oaks 49-47 as 6-8 forward Brandon Lukasik hit a pair of free throws with six seconds to play. Yannick N’Kindu paced the Gaels with 11. Vaughn Williams added 9 and Ricky Dunkley 8. Rustom Anary paced Oakridge with 11. Tyler Carey added 9, Adam Langmuir 8 and Adison Kipp 8. The Gaels overcame a 14-point third quarter deficit to tie the game 44-44 with four minutes to play. Oakridge made it 47-47 with 23 seconds left when Adam Langmuir hit one of two free throws, setting the stage for Lukasik’s heroics. “It was pretty tense,” Lukasik told the Hamilton Spectator. “I just thought about being alone in our gym making shots. That’s all I thought about. … Even when we were 14 points down, I knew we could come back. Fourteen points is a lot but we play a lot of players and we were wearing them down.” The Oaks led 14-9, 28-16 and 36-33 at the quarters. The Oaks (coached by John Curcio, assisted by Dino Footie, Devin Kenney and Mark Eys) also included Chris Hayes, Amil Delic, Fulan Cui, Matt Fennel, Adam Elliot, Brandon Lucas and Ryan Brown. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Scarborough Mother Teresa Titans defeated the 6th-seeded Belle River St. Anne Catholic Saints 56-45 as Justin Dennis scored 16 and Papa Oppong 12. Dan Trepanier led St. Anne with 22. Adrian Bisson added 14. The Saints (coached by Larry Loebach, Dan Devin, Rick St. Pierre and Roger Mousseau) also included T.J. Baggio, Steve Lacroce, Vinnie Allevato, Anthony Reaume, Colin Edwards, Mike Lacroce, Ray Laroque, J.Y. Renaud, Adam Prieur, Adam Bering and Walid Tabash. The score was knotted at 9 after one quarter. Mother Teresa led 15-22 at the half and 43-35 after three quarters. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Waterloo CI Vikings upset the 7th-seeded Ajax Pickering Trojans 53-51 as Justin Lam and Gavin Horne each scored 15. Jaan Montgomery added 10. Devoe Joseph paced Pickering with 14. Stephen Lopez added 8 and Marcus Wong 7. The Trojans (coached by Ron Parfitt, assisted by Marc Picard, Kirk Salesman and Matt Maltese) also included Lyndon Rainford, Travis Thomas, Tim Cozier, Ronior Thompson, Adam Brown, Damion Davis, Brandon Thomas-James and Sephton Spence. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Owen Sound West Hill Raiders crushed the 8th-seeded Mississauga Father Michael Goetz Gators 76-57 as Jevohn Shepherd scored 23, Nathan Skinner 16 and Shamab Coombs 13. The Gators led 25-12 after one quarter but the Warriors dominated the final frame by a 24-8 count. Isaac Kuon paced Father Goetz with 16. Cauchy Muamba and Cameron John-Proctor each added 14. The Gators (coached by R. Kulig) also included Mike Deror, Jesse Sandiford, Tyrone Brookes, Jonathan Tyndale, Rieko Ruach, Henoc Muamba, Conor Driscoll and Jonathan Sancho. Father Goetz led 25-12 after one quarter. West Hill led 41-35 at the half and 52-49 after three quarters. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints whipped the 15th-seeded Barrie Bear Creek Kodiaks 70-52 as Ronnie Williams scored 17, Kedar Ahmed 11 and Tyrone Mattison 11. Jacob Burke led Bear Creek with 23. Josh Ross added 10 and Adam Gane 8. The Kodiaks (coached by Paul Hopper, Wes smith and Matt Dawson), also included Randy Matt, Liam Hunter, Tyler Wiederhold, Matt Richardson, Justin McFarlane, Alex Bemonde, Matt Caprathers, Danny Bailey and Drew Smith. …………………………………………………… The 16th-seeded Ottawa Sir Robert Borden Bengals dumped 11th-seeded Kitchener Collegiate Raiders 58-45 as Kevin McCleery scored 23, Mike Kenny 16 and Abdul Kosar 8. Cam McIntyre paced Kitchener (coached by Al Haehn, assisted by Matt McIntyre and Bret Ready) with 14. Alain Saint-Onge added 12. The Raiders also included George Jovkovic, Jake Kindi, Luke Kieswetter, Jeff Mitchel, J.C. Knight, Ronnie Sweeney, Tristan Walker, Zeljko Talijan, Nem Radenovic, Slaven Djurdjevic and Bojan Peka. Kitchener led 14-13 after one quarter. Borden led 29-22 at the half and 45-30 after three quarters. The Bengals remain resolute about demonstrating their displeasure over having received such a low seed in the draw, said coach Dean Petridis told the Ottawa Citizen. “I think these guys are definitely getting more and more confident as the games go on. We’re still playing with that attitude about the disrespect.”
In the quarterfinals, the 5th-seeded Hamilton Cathedral Gaels defeated the 13th-seeded Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders 55-45 as Ricky Diunkley scored 20, Bryan Furtado 17 and Yannick N’Kindu 5. Jamie Clem paced St. Mary’s with 11. Pat Orvidas added 8 and Jaymes Ordyniec 7. The Crusaders (coached by Jamie Girolametto, Adam Lobodici and Pat Papalia) also included Greg Hayes, Dan Bragagnolo, Zack Casuccio, Marc Pilon-Bignell, Paul O’Byrne, Steve Lobodici, Kyle Young, Brendan Roche, Aaron Hackett and Tavo Cordova. Cathedral led 28-24 at the half.
The top-seeded Scarborough Blessed Mother Teresa Titans defeated the 9th-seeded Markham District H.S. Marauders 56-42 as Papa Oppong scored 29, including six treys, and Danhue Lawrence 9. Tyler McGarrity and Mike Folker each scored 13 to lead Markham. The Titans led 10-6, 29-23 and 41-34 at the quarters. The Marauders took a 34-31 lead but Papa Oppong hit a pair of buckets as the Titans responded with a 13-0 run. “I was in a groove, I was shooting well, the guys fed me the ball and the shots kept dropping,” Oppong, who hit 5-6 from beyond the arc, told the Toronto Star. “It’s another win, but we still have two more to get to reach our goal.” After a shaky first half in which Mother Teresa led 29-23, Markham opened with a 11-2 run and led by three with 3 40 left in the third quarter. But the Titan’s speed and Oppong’s elusive ballhandling proved too much for Markham. “He put it together with some nice points but I’m more impressed with his defensive effort and rebounding than the scoring,” said Titans coach Richard Gallacher. “He’s real big for us and, like the others, wants the three-pointers. Hard not to do it when the shots are there.” Titans coach Richard Gallacher told the Hamilton Spectator that “I don’t think we’ve put it together for 32 minutes yet, but we’ve played really well in spurts.” Markham coach George Kraus told the Star that “as bad as (Oppong) hurt us, it was still a game until the last quarter.” The Marauders (Kraus was assisted by Ali Tunnicliff and Don Abreu) also included Sean Thomas, Sivan Gumesingam, Prasan Parikh, Mike Folker, Matt Cole, Nilesh Chauhan, Nathan Rodney, Mike Swaby and Andrew Kraus.
The 3rd-seeded Owen Sound West Hill Raiders dumped the 16th-seeded Ottawa Sir Robert Borden Bengals 70-43 as Jevohn Shepherd scored 13, Shamar Coombs 10 and Herve Mbuyamba 8. Nick Millen led Borden with 9. Mike Kenny added 6 and Mohammed Ali 5. The Bengals took an early 6-5 lead, “but then we just stopped attacking,” said coach Dean Petridis told the Ottawa Citizen. They quickly themselves in a deep hole, from they were never able to emerge, trailing 20-13, 35-19 and 53-30 at the quarter marks. “We just ran out of gas,” Petridis added. “But overall, I’m pleased with the weekend. It was a good building block for the future.” The Bengals (coached by Dean Petridis, assisted by Colin McCleery and Bob Hayes) also included Jordan Pleet, Sandy Gibson, Jon Katz, Abdul Kosar, Dave Pike, Jugo Vukojevic, Cedric Colas, Bojan Dodik and Kevin McCleery.
In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints dumped the 10th-seeded Waterloo CI Vikings 55-46 as Tyrone Mattison scored 16 and Earl Greene 14. Justin Lah paced Waterloo with 15. Jaan Montgomery added 12. The Vikings (coached by Craig Nickel, Dan Nelson and Chris Price) also included Dillon Heap, Ahmed Mahdi, Kyle Mack, Gavin Horne, Wes Heap, Payton Holliss, Mik Montgomery, Dave Haslett and Matt Buckley. Eastern Commerce led 29-12; 37-21; and 44-33 at the quarters.
In the semis, the top-seeded Scarborough Blessed Mother Teresa Titans defeated the 5th-seeded host Hamilton Cathedral Gaels 64-51 as Papa Oppong scored 23 and Justin Dennis 11. Bryan Furtado paced Cathedral with 12. Yannick N’Kindu added 10 and Vaughn Williams 7. Mother Theresa led 15-8, 32-13 and 44-38 at the quarters. The Gaels were severely hampered when star win Yannick N’Kindu broke his wrist.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints defeated the 3rd-seeded Owen Sound West Hill Raiders 67-61 as Ronnie Williams scored 15, Earl Greene 14 and Learie Duncan 14. Jevohn Shepherd paced West Hill with 18. Nathan Skinner added 15. Eastern Commerce led 16-13 after a quarter, 38-33 at the half and 51-45 after three quarters.
In the bronze medal match, Big-10 bound seniors Jevohn Shepherd, headed to Michigan, and Nathan Skinner, headed to Iowa, led the Owen Sound West Hill Raiders to a 67-57 win over the Hamilton Cathedral Gaels. The Warriors took a 35-25 lead at the half on the perimeter shooting of Shepherd. Cathedral responded with an 11-4 run early in the second half, capped by a Vaughn Williams dunk in transition. But when Bryan Furtado was forced to the bench with his fourth foul, and the Gaels trailing 39-36, it was all over for Cathedral. Guards Shamar Coombs and Juevol Myles drilled treys as West Hill reasserted command and coasted to the win. Shepherd paced West Hill with 21. Coombs added 20, Skinner 6, Myles 6, Akeem Small 5, Dwayne Smith 5 and Kafele Bingham 2. Ricky Dunkley and Bryan Furtado each scored 13 to lead Cathedral (coached by Mark Daly, assisted by Brian Daly and Paul Lowe). Vaughn Williams added 12, Decee Krah 6, Brandon Lukasik 4, Daniel Williams 3, Robert Smith 2, Michael Barr 2 and Kyle Mayers 2, while Joe Ssemanda, Justin Dick, Rai-Sean Greenidge, Davian Bogle, Yannick N’Kindu, Ricky Dunkley, Devon Gayle, Mustafe Mohammed and Jeffery Itoua Mamic were scoreless. Gaels coach Mark Daly told the Hamilton Spectator that “the top three are better than everyone else. I’m proud to be the fourth team.” Gaels star Yannick N’Kindu was unavailable to play as he was in hospital for X-rays after injuring his wrist. Brandon Lukasik said “we played hard and we didn’t have Yannick with us. It was tough. I left everything out there.”
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints became the first school to win four straight provincial crowns as they dumped the top-seeded Scarborough Blessed Mother Teresa Titans 51-42. Senior stars Ronnie Williams, Tyrone Mattison and Kedar Ahmen ability to break foes down with the penetration dribble proved the difference. The Saints built a 15-8 lead after a quarter. Although Williams quickly picked up his third foul, Mattison took over as Eastern Commerce extended their edge to 25-16 at the half. With the Saints hitting their free throws, Eastern padded its lead to 34-19 before the Mother Teresa Titans responded with a 7-0 run sparked by a Justin Dennis trey to cut the lead to 40-28 after three quarters. But the Titans tired in the final frame and Eastern Commerce pulled out a 51-42 win. Kedar Ahmen led the Saints with 14 points. Mattison added 11, Ronnie Williams 10, Learie Duncan 6, Earl Greene 6, Chretien Lukusa 2 and Andrew Cunningham 2. Papa Oppong paced Mother Theresa with 17. Danhue Lawrence added 10, Justin Dennis 7, Jadwey Hemmings 5 and Cedric Carter 3. “We made history, my guys were prepared, played with composure and didn’t give them an easy bucket,” coach Roy Rana told the Toronto Star. “This game was about transition, rebounding and defence, I thought the guys were dominant and it’ll take a few days for this win to really sink in.” Ronnie Williams noted that “every year it gets better, four years and four medals. With this kind of streak, you don’t want to leave high school.” Mattison told the Hamilton Spectator that “we were seeded No. 2 but everybody on this team knew we were No. 1. I don’t know if any other team can match four straight gold medals. It’s a tough accomplishment.” Mattison added that the Saints execution was impeccable. Earl Greene added that “this is history in the making. I don’t know if another team can match this. It’s hard work. We have a winning team and everybody plays like a winner.”
The bronze medalist Owen Sound West Hill Raiders: Jevohn Shepherd; Shamar Coombs; Akeem Small; Jamaar Burke; Dane Smith; Herve Mbuyamba; Jeievon Myles; Anthony Bishop; Shae Sheperd; Dwayne Smith; Kafele Bingham; coach Chris Smallings; assistant Wayne Dawkins; manager Shakira Roach; manager Lydia Chan; manager Rahel Vibrah
The silver medalist Scarborough Mother Teresa Titans: Papa Oppong; Jadwey Hemmings; Danhue Lawrence; Justin Dennis; Craig Nelson; Gael Kanza; John Simira; Peter Mckerya; Anthony Williams; Andre Bell; Bruce James; Cedric Carter; Chris Hibbert; Adrian Bent; Chris Hibbert; Armel Kanza; Alex Mallari; coach Ron Burrows; assistant Richard Gallacher; assistant Bob Clement; assistant Kirt McNeily
The gold medalist Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints: Ronnie Williams; Kedar Ahmed; Tyrone Mattison; Learie Duncan; Earl Greene; Keaton Cole; Andrew Cunningham; Monty Hardware; Khris Montague; Junior Cadougan; Nick Rigakos; Alwayne Bigby; Chretien Lukusa; Matthew Campbell-Priestley; Nathan Thomas; coach Roy Rana; assistant Kevin Jeffers; assistant Shawn Dyer; assistant Trevor Builen; manager Renee Ganie; manager Nick Cooke; manager James Clark; manager Kareem Griffin